MOOSA A.P. Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner herein has been arrayed as the sole accused in the instant crime No.491/2019 of New Mahe Police Station, which has been registered for the offences punishable under Secs. 354A of the IPC and Secs.7 and 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. The crime was so registered on the basis of the FI statement given by the minor victim girl aged 10 years on 20.11.2019 at about 11.00 a.m. (crime registered on the same day at 12.20 noon) in respect of the alleged incident which happened on the same day (20.11.2019) at about 9.45 a.m. in the morning.

(2.) The prosecution case in short is that the minor victim girl aged 10 years had gone to the Primary Health Centre at New Mahe for medical consultation along with the mother. When her name was about to be called for medical consultation, she was asked to stand near the door of the doctor's consultation room and at that time, petitioner /accused aged 76 years was there and he had came near the minor victim girl and touched her private parts and went away. Later, the petitioner again come near her and touched her breast and thereby, the petitioner has committed the abovesaid offences. The incident is said to have happened at 9.45 a.m. in the morning on 20.11.2019 and the FI statement has been lodged on the same day at 11.00 a.m. and the crime has also been registered on the same day at 12.20 noon. The petitioner has been arrested in this case on the same day (20.11.2019) and after his remand, has been under detention since then.

(3.) The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would point out that the abovesaid allegations are false and baseless and would have been made only out of misunderstandings of the minor victim girl and that the petitioner is an elderly citizen aged about 76 years and he had gone to the Primary Health Centre on that day for medical consultation and he had intervened only when the minor victim girl was seen violating the queue. Further that, the petitioner is suffering from old age ailments like chronic Asthma, nephrological issues as can be seen from Annexures-A1 to A4 medical records and his wife is also an elderly citizen who is suffering from quite a few old age ailments as can be seen from Annexures-A5 to A6 medical records and now, there is none to look after his wife and that this Court may order to release him on regular bail subject to appropriate conditions, taking into account of the fact that the petitioner has already suffered detention since 20.11.2019, for the last 26 days.